Journalist Sebastian Junger teamed with the late photographer Tim Hetherington to film U.S. soldiers defending the Restrepo outpost in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley over the course of a year. They fashioned their footage into "Restrepo," a hard-hitting portrait of rugged combat that went on to win the 2011 Oscar for Best Documentary.

Now Junger returns to the valley and to his unused material to give us a sequel. "Korengal" shifts the focus from the front line to the soldiers themselves, looking at how the fighting affects them, both on the battlefield and off.

Junger gets personal with the men of the Korengal, including Hillsboro's Misha Pemble-Belkin. He sits the troopers down for one-on-one interviews, allowing them a platform to share their feelings about why they fight and what they believe is waiting back home. Much of what they have to say is heartbreaking. The war has gone on so long, many of the soldiers have forgotten what it's like to do anything else.

"Korengal" shows the different aspects of their daily lives. Part of the mission entails engaging with local tribal leaders to find peaceful solutions to keep noncombatants out of harm's way. Downtime consists of playing video games, wrestling, and pranking each other. A day without shots fired is a bizarre anomaly.

The resulting narrative runs a gamut of emotions. The soldiers' lives can be sad, off-putting, and even funny. Gallows humor rules the day, political correctness is not a term close to anyone's tongue. Junger smartly lets each individual be himself. "Korengal" seeks understanding, not judgment. Men tasked with not-so-nice jobs get used to being not so nice themselves.

Which only serves to emphasize the troubling question that hangs in the air as "Korengal" draws to a close: what is anyone prepared to do to transition any of our troops back home? These enlisted men have been asked to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the rest of us, and "Korengal" reveals the many ways in which they've fulfilled that duty.

-- Jamie S. Rich, Special to the Oregonian

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"KORENGAL"

Grade: B+

Rated: R

Running time: 84 minutes

Cast and crew: directed by Sebastian Junger; cinematography by Junger and Tim Hetherington

Playing at: Opens Friday, June 27 at Regal Fox Tower

The lowdown: This follow-up to the Oscar-winning documentary "Restrepo" returns to the distant Afghani valley where a dedicated group of soldiers toil to hold the line. Fashioned from the same footage as its predecessor, "Korengal" turns its lens on the personal toll the extended combat is taking on American troops.